CO Fire update

Below is an update from a friend and fellow Nav staff in CS:


"We’re relieved that for now The Navigators headquarters building, Glen Eyrie conference center, and Eagle Lake Camp have all withstood the blaze.  Over 35 of our new EDGE Corps staff have been here for the past 8 days for their initial EDGE Training Summit.  They have all been sleeping in homes in the community, and have had to meet in multiple locations due to the evacuations. This is certainly not the way we wanted them to start their time with The Navigators.

As I type this there a number of thunderstorms popping up to the west. Please pray they would bring RAIN but NOT WIND.  It was a series of 65 mph wind gusts from a storm way back in the mountains that caused the dramatic shift in the fire yesterday afternoon. We certainly don’t want to see that repeated!!"


Here is a link of an interview with our Nav President Doug Nuenke on Fox News.  He and his wife Pam were evacuated as well along with other staff in that area.  Please keep praying for God's mercy, protection and an end to this destruction.  Thank you!

Please pray for protection from fires in CO

Please pray for protection for those in danger in CO.  And esp. near to our heart is the Navs headquarters, Eagle lake camp and Glen Eyrie conference grounds.  Below is an update from our chief of staff:
You may be aware of the wildfires raging across Colorado this summer. One fire, the Waldo Canyon Fire, started Saturday around noon. Waldo Canyon is a popular hiking area just west of Glen Eyrie. The fire spread rapidly, and as a safety precaution, Eagle Lake Camps and Glen Eyrie were both evacuated Saturday afternoon. Activities were cancelled, including week four of Eagle Lake Camps. Local churches and businesses supported The Navigators by providing food and lodging for those who were displaced.
                                
Sunday afternoon, the fire was dangerously close to Eagle Lake and approaching Queen’s Canyon, adjacent to the Glen.
                                
All Navigator property (Eagle Lake, Glen Eyrie, the International Office, and USHQ) is under a mandatory evacuation by order of the civil authorities. All offices will be closed Monday, and will reopen when the evacuation order is lifted.
                                
Many staff have been evacuated from their homes. Please pray for their families.
                                
Dawson Trotman committed our Glen Eyrie home to the Lord in 1953. We trust Him to do that which is for our good and His glory. Please pray for those fighting the fires, and for those whose homes are in the path of the blaze.
                                
In the midst of these uncertainties, we cling to Psalm 46:
                                
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea...”  
 --Psalm 46:1-2 (ESV)
                               
Serving with you,
Charlie Dokmo
Chief of Staff, U.S. President’s Office

Discipleship, Back Floats and Political Pics!

Discipleship takes on many forms in life; Thing 2 is training Thing 3 in the ways of costumes and weapons.  You can't see it but they are both wearing the  rain boots with their shorts of course! 

I'm a proud mamma!  This kid would barely get his eyes wet a few months ago and now look at him!  Swim lessons  4 days a week for the past two weeks have been a highlight for the boys (well everyone except T3 who just got to practice patience, eating gobs of snacks and self control until he gets big enough for swim lessons).

Thing 2 doing the back float.

this kid cracks me up - he LOVES doing cannon balls off the diving blocks.  He didn't realize you could dive off of them too until he saw another kid do it!  LOL

Safety Town is another great perk of living in this little prairie town of ours.  Thing 2 went for two weeks of safety training and LOVED it!  I loved that they started every day with some good o'l American values - The Pledge of Allegiance.  Obama may not "need" to wear a flag lapel pin to show his patriotism, but I'm glad my sons are growing up learning the value of the flag anyways! Since I'm getting political I may as well mention Thing 1's (8 yrs old) comment the other day as we listened to talk radio driving to all the activities, "I like listening to this and learning about the President."  I couldn't help but smile. Okay, I'll stop now...

Thing 3 is always begging for my coffee even at Safety Town graduation.  Who created this monster?

They learn how to cross a sidewalk.

The rules of the road.

Wearing their seat belts and much, much more... poison,  fires, police, strangers...etc!

At the end of two weeks they have a little graduation ceremony.

His instructor was just the sweetest!  She bought him a special toy just for memorizing his address!

With two older brothers it doesn't take them long to learn how to  "pose" hmmmm, at least he is smiling!

And another great pic of my sweet little angels.

Why do I even try?

This is as close as we got to everyone looking and smiling!

The end of spring and beginning of summer means soccer is  ending and baseball begins!

Thing 3 at his last soccer game.

Things 2 playing "soccer".

Soccer with a bunch of 5 and 6 yr olds involves a lot of things, most of them having nothing to do with the sport.

Like water breaks!  Lots of them.  And picking grass, falling down dramatically, dog-piles and kicking the ball as far as you can down the field when your teammates are nowhere near there.

Camping with Kids

We recently decided to go camping pack up half our house into our minivan and live for three days in a tent.  Since it had been two years since our last camping adventure I had forgotten how much darn work it is to get ready to go camping.  And then once you are there you are expected to keep on working instead of flipping on “Animal Planet” in your hotel room or lounging by the pool.  Whose idea was this anyways?!

Upon arrival you have to construct your house, cook outside and find everything that is missing because it doesn’t have a home (aka, my three year old immediately  lost his flip flops for the entire weekend!).  Throw in the joys of the great outdoors, fresh air (a plague of newborn flies), becoming one with nature (FILTHY boys climbing into bed),exploring new territory (“Mawww-ommm! How much longer is this hike?  I’m hungry!” 5 mins into our adventure and only 45 mins to go).   Ahhh, this is the stuff of memories.

But somewhere in the midst of: scrambling into the tent before the downpour, snuggling in listening to the rain and calculating how long it will take to drive home if our tent starts to leak, roasting yet another s’more for my chocolate (or is it dirt?) covered boys, waking up to my husband handing me a cup of coffee (some things blessedly don’t change even when you are camping), listening to my 3-year-old ask his dad, “Is my coffee ready yet?”, watching my boys scurry off to play with old friends and make new ones, spending hours in the sunshine and splashing in the lake, eating junk food without feeling guilty bc we hiked a whole 10 mins this morning (trail mix doesn’t count if consumed while moving, right?), and fishing at sunset – SOMEWHERE in there – we decided we really were having fun.  So much fun in fact we will probably do it all again sooner than later. 

At the end of the weekend as hubby and I folded up our portable house we discovered Thing 3’s flip flops stashed safely away directly under the tent.  It was the perfect ending to our weekend of fun.  Our suntanned and sad-to-be-leaving boys buckled up and we headed home with two-weeks-worth of dirty laundry and a successful camping adventure behind us.  

Ahh, a boys love for messin with the fire - he never seems to outgrow it!

Coffee a la hubby!

My little self-proclaimed "snuggle bug"

this is always what I get when I say "smile"

Thanks friends for bringing your fun water toys to share!

Making Ice Cream (thanks Lars for the ice cream making ball!)

Tasting the Ice Cream

Snuggled in for the Night (thanks GandG Mears for the sleeping bags!)